Prague, April 1 (RFE/RL) - A ceasefire in Bosnia promised by
Russia President Boris Yeltsin is greeted by Western commentators
with near unanimous skepticism.

Lee Hockstadter writes from Moscow today in The Washington Post: "Yeltsin ordered a unilateral cease-fire (yesterday) in the
shell-shattered southern region of Chechnya and a phased withdrawal
of some Russian forces as part of what he cast as a milestone peace
plan to end the 15-month-old conflict. In a sharp departure from
recent Russian policy, Yeltsin declared on national television that
Moscow is prepared for mediated talks with Chechen leader Dzhokhar
Dudayev.... The war, deeply unpopular throughout Russia, dominates
the television news night after night with its ghastly images of
charred bodies, smashed homes and weeping refugees."

The London Times says today in an editorial: "President
Yeltsin's new strategy for settling the conflict in Chechnya,
unveiled yesterday, may well go the sad way of previous failed
initiatives. This brutal 27-month conflict... will not easily be
halted.... But with the thawing of Russia's winter snows, Mr. Yeltsin
appears to be recovering some of his old energy.... The Chechnya plan
is politically astute.... If the plan succeeds, he can claim
authorship. If it fails, his opponents will be able to blame him
alone no longer. This time, they too will have been involved."

In an analysis published today in the United States by newspapers of
the Cox newspapers group, Marcia Kunstel and Joseph Albright write: "Yeltsin's nationwide television address... represented his
most flexible approach yet to the Chechen conflict.... In promising
to restart talks that broke down last December, (he) suggested
Dudayev could play a role in subsequent Chechen elections.... Yeltsin
also tried to spread the responsibility for achieving a peaceful
settlement, announcing creation of a new commission with members from
the executive branch and both chambers of parliament to tackle the
job."

From Moscow, Helen Womack writes today in the British newspaper The
Independent: "(Yeltsin) has admitted (that the Chechen war) is
likely to make or break his chances of being reelected as Russian
president in June.... It remains to be seen how effective his plan
will be, given that Moscow's forces were bombing Chechen villages up
to the last minute before Mr. Yeltsin spoke and in view of the fact
that no consultations were held with General Dudayev, who still
considers that he is at war with Russia."

In the U.S. newspaper Newsday today, Susan Sachs contends: "
Yeltsin, who is facing an uphill fight to win a second term, needs to
extricate himself from the war without being seen as relinquishing
Russian territory. He has tried before to negotiate, but the talks
always collapsed over Chechnya's political status. The conflict has
been devastating, not only to Yeltsin's standing at home and
internationally, but also to Russian self-esteem.... Remaining within
the Russian political embrace is unlikely to hold much attraction for
Dudayev. The dapper former Russian air force general, whose forces
have frequently humiliated the Russian army, has said he will accept
nothing less than full independence."

New York Times writer Michael Specter says in an analysis published
in the newspaper today: "This is not the first peace plan
Yeltsin has offered, and it may not be any more successful than those
that have come before it.... The Russian commander in the region,
Gen. Vyacheslav Tikhomirov, said it would be impossible to turn war
to peace so quickly. But that was not Yeltsin's goal.... Yeltsin
made two purely political, yet potentially effective, decisions....
First, he put his prime minister, Viktor S. Chernomyrdin, in charge
of the peace effort. Chernomyrdin..., unlike Yeltsin..., is not
detested by the Chechen rebels.... Yeltsin also discussed amnesty for
Chechen separatists."

The Neue Zuercher Zeitung said today: "Yeltsin said that the
Chechen conflict is the most difficult problem Russia confronts. He
said all possible options for a settlement of the conflict have been
tested. Yeltsin said that after discussions among different bodies of
the Russian leadership, a program has been worked out consisting of a
number of measures aimed at reestablishing peace, calm and stability
in the Chechen Republic. He said that he will submit a proposal to
the state Duma of an amnesty for people who participated in actions
against the Russian army. but (not for those who) committed serious
crimes."

In Britain's The Daily Telegraph today, Alan Philps writes from
Moscow: "An hour after the (ceasefire) deadline artillery
shells were pounding the village of Govskoye, three miles from the
Russian border.... There was no immediate word from General
Dudayev.... He has given no sign that he is ready for a ceasefire,
and (he) is demanding full independence.... The best offer from
Moscow would (have to be limited to) a broad form of autonomy, which
is unacceptable to the Chechens."

Carol J. Williams says in an analysis today in the Los Angeles Times: "A simultaneous vow to continue fighting against 'terrorist
acts' suggested that Yeltsin's latest endeavor to stop the war he
instigated 15 months ago was little more than a repackaging of failed
initiatives from the past.... Dudayev told the Los Angeles Times and
other news organizations in an interview two weeks ago that he would
spurn new negotiations with the Yeltsin regime because he had lost
all trust in the current leadership and would rather see the
Communists return to power.... Previous ceasefires have failed to
stop the fighting in Chechnya because they, like the one announced
yesterday), leave federal troops in the region vulnerable to (rebel)
revenge attacks... that have invariably provoked a return of fire."

From Moscow David Hearst writes in an analysis published today in
Britain's The Guardian: "With the Russian Foreign Minister
Yevgeny Primakov recently ruling out independence for Chechnya, no
new political breakthrough is expected even if talks do come
about.... There was widespread skepticism in Chechnya about the
ceasefire on both sides of the line.... The recent Russian offensive
has recaptured much of the ground lost when Russian troops halted
their operations last year to start direct peace talks in Grozny."